Jeremy W. Richter, Author at Jeremy W. Richter

About Jeremy W. Richter

I’m Jeremy W. Richter. In addition to authoring this blog, I am an attorney with Webster, Henry, Lyons, Bradwell, Cohan & Speagle, P.C., in Birmingham, Alabama, practicing civil defense litigation and focusing on commercial auto/trucking litigation, premises liability, general business liability, and various other aspects of insurance defense litigation.

Get Paid up Front: A Cautionary Tale about Getting Stiffed by a Client

May 21, 2019

A friend of mine named Oliver recently told me a story about getting stiffed by a client. This is a problem common to many lawyers when they either don't get a retainer or don't collect a large enough retainer before starting to work for a new client. Because of the prevalence of this issue, Oliver and others who heard the story asked me to share it. Getting stiffed by a client is likely to happen to all of us at some point, but this is just a reminder to do what you can to minimize that possibility. Here's Oliver's story:...

Be Open and Responsive to Feedback

May 14, 2019

A few weeks ago, Curt Runger of Attorney Mentors sent me a text message saying that he had been seeing my posts on LinkedIn and that if I would do one thing differently, LinkedIn's algorithm would like me better and increase my visibility. I've known Curt for a while now and trust that when he tells me something, he knows what he's talking about. So I implemented the change. Over the past three years, I have never had particularly good results from sharing my blog posts on LinkedIn. Usually about 140 folks see the post on LinkedIn and a few...

Launch Day Giveaway Results for Stop Putting Out Fires

May 7, 2019

You likely know by now that my second book, Stop Putting Out Fires (Amazon), launched on Thursday, May 2. Thanks to the support of my regular readers, my friends in LawyerSmack, and others out there who have come across it, the book has had a pretty successful first few days in the wild. While I don't know the exact sales numbers yet, I don't mind telling you that between orders and pre-orders, Stop Putting Out Fires has already sold more copies than my first book, Building a Better Law Practice, did in its first two months of existence. Reviews of...

Launch Day Giveaway for Stop Putting Out Fires!

May 2, 2019

I can't express how excited I am about today, launch day for my new book Stop Putting Out Fires. I have been thinking about it and planning it for months now. But before I tell you about the Launch Day Giveaway, I wanted to share an email I received this week from one of the lawyers who has read both of my books: "Building a Better Law Practice helped me think big picture on case management, and Stop Putting Out Fires gives me productive ways to fix my weakness of being disorganized and making clients happier. They really work well...

Have a Vision for Your Practice so You Don’t Become Extinct

Apr 23, 2019

I am near-sighted, which is really only useful for tying knots with fishing line or doing anything else that can be done within 18 inches of my face. I didn’t always know I was near-sighted. It wasn’t until I started driving that we discovered it. My mother was riding with me while I had my learner’s permit. She abruptly turned to me and asked, “Why didn’t you stop at that stop sign?” I replied earnestly, “What stop sign?” She didn’t miss a beat before announcing, “We are going to make you an eye appointment.” It wasn’t until I walked out...

[Appearance] Round 2 on the Lawsome Podcast

Apr 17, 2019

Jake and Paul of the Lawsome Podcast had me back on their weekly show. In addition to discussing my new book, Stop Putting Out Fires, we talked about a variety of topics that included the stress relief of yard work, communication skills, the Enneagram, and law practice management. You can find the episode on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, or you can check out the webpage for the interview for an exhaustive list of other places the episode can be found. I last appeared on the Lawsome Podcast in August 2018 to talk about Building a Better Law Practice.

Don’t Sacrifice Your Creativity to Your Law Practice

Apr 16, 2019

Over the last couple of years, I’ve written a good bit about the importance of lawyers engaging and exploring their creativity. In fact, I've gone so far as to say that when we take time away from work to devote to family, hobbies, and exercise, we will be better lawyers. I can’t understate the importance of using all our gifts, rather than suppressing them for the sake of the billable hour. Your creative expression may take the form of cooking, writing, photography, knitting, or singing; whatever it is, do not forsake it. For a decade, through high school and into...

The Second Quarter: How Are Your 2019 Goals Progressing?

Apr 2, 2019

In early November of 2018, I finalized my 2019 goals. I committed them to paper in the moleskin notebook that I've carried everywhere since August of 2016. But before we jump into talking about 2019, I want to give you evidence that setting goals matters. Looking to the past for evidence of success When I bought my moleskin notebook, two of my earliest entries pertained to goals for my law practice for 2017 and goals for this blog for the last five months of 2016 and for 2017. I had launched the blog in June 2016, and up until August,...

You Are Expendable … Unless You Develop Business Relationships

Mar 26, 2019

During a recent conversation with a partner at a law firm, he said to me, "I was never the kind of associate that anyone said, 'We can't lose that guy.'" In fact, most associates never have that said about about them. Most associates are pretty replaceable, even good associates. Good associates deliver solid work-product, meet their billable requirements, and don't make waves. But there are thousands, even tens of thousands of young lawyers who can do those things. So what do you have to do to become non-expendable, or at least the closest thing to it in the legal industry?...

Do You Know Your Lawyer Mentoring Tree?

Mar 19, 2019

Much is made of coaching trees that derive from assistant coaches who have worked for prominent head coaches. The success or failure of the coaches that branch out after having worked under a particular head coach can bear significantly on the legacy of the head coach. Consider the former coach of the Green Bay Packers, Mike Holmgren. Two well regarded head coaches were once assistants under Holmgren: Andy Reid and Jon Gruden. Reid's teams are perennial playoff contenders, and Gruden has won a Super Bowl. Each of those guys also has a coaching tree. John Harbaugh, Ron Rivera, and Doug...